Catacombs of Paris
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We have always wanted to go to the Catacombs of Paris.
The last time we were in Paris, we ran out of time and didn’t make it to its underground labyrinth of death. When we visited Lima, Peru the catacombs were high on our to do list and we were sure that we would make it there. Unfortunately I developed a bad case of food poisoning from eating at the Tony Roma’s on the waterfront of Mira Flores and spent our last two days in the city praying to the porcelain God.
The Catacombs of Paris
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
When we landed on French soil this time, the catacombs were the first destination on our agenda and we did not deviate from our plan.
We awoke early in the morning feeling groggy from jet lag but refused to let it beat us. After enjoying our café and croissants at the Perfect Hotel in Montmartre, we hopped on the metro to catch the train to the the Denfert Rochereau Metro station near Mont Parnasse. Denfert Rochereau is the metro stop for the Catacombs.
Don’t do what we Did.
When we came out of the Metro, we took a wrong turn as usual and walked the wrong way towards Montparnasse. We were walking by a cemetery so the Catacombs must be close by. It felt like the right way. For some reason we missed the sign pointing towards the catacombs. Luckily it was a beautiful day and we didn’t mind that it took an extra half hour to get there.
But if you are smart and not us, all you have to do is walk across the street from the metro stop and the catacombs are right there.
The hallways are surprisingly well lit!
We arrived to a small line up waiting at the entrance to get in. The great thing about the catacombs is that they only let 200 people into the caves at a time. The space out the timing of letting people in and you find yourself walking down the spiral staircase all alone into the eerie depths below.
I was trying not to think about the warnings posted outside the entrance. “People suffering from cardiac or respiratory weakness or a nervous disposition should not go into the catacombs” “Young people may be traumatized by the experience.” The catacombs of Paris sounded like it was going to be a freaky experience.
They also had realitively high ceilings!
Once we reached the end of the spiral stair case and the walkway to the tunnels, I felt relief that it wasn’t too small or dark. My visions of claustrophobia quickly disappeared.
The catacombs are a little on the macabre side, but traumatic they are not. The tunnels are wide and high and the light is not too eerie.
Once you have survived crawling through the original tunnels of the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, the Catacombs of Paris are nothing.
Literally a barrel of bones!
Now maybe if a barrel of bones disturbs you, the catacombs might be traumatic. But we were impressed with the barrel of bones, and the walls of bones. All the bones of the catacombs are meticulously arranged into works of art.
A Little History
The Catacombs were developed in the late 1700′s. Paris’ cemeteries were overrun with human remains and causing a serious health issue. Water was becoming contaminated and disease was running rampant. Something had to be done. It was decided that several cemeteries in the city were to be closed and the human remains be transferred to old quarries.
The Bones and skulls were stacked upon eachother!
The quarries were blessed and the bones were stacked one upon each other in a very neat and orderly fashion. Their aren’t any names to go with the bones that you see but there are plaques stating which cemetery the bones were moved from and what year they arrived.
Identifying the cemetary and the year!
The Catacombs house over 6 Million bones and they added bones for almost a century. The last of the lot being added in 1871.
If you like a little thrill in your travels and enjoy feeling a little spooked, the catacombs make for an excellent destination. Skulls peak out over stacks of femurs and tibia bones and crosses placed in the centre of a wall of bones give it a solemn look.
Bones and skulls everywhere!
Water drips overhead and the air has a slight chill. As you walk through the dimly lit hallways you can hear muffled voices of other tourists walking behind you. Or is it the voices of the past calling out somewhere from the deep depths of the tunnels.
Information on the Catacombs
- Cost – 8 Euro
- Duration – They say 45 minutes to 2 Hours, We were about an Hour and a Half.
- Open – 10 am to 5 Pm
- Closed – Mondays
- Metro Stop – Denfert Rochereau
- Buss # 38 and #68
- Be prepared to walk a couple of Kilometres
- No toilets in the tunnel system
- There is are emergency phones if there is a problem
For more tips on Visiting Paris check out our other blog posts
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Weird! I have never been in the Catacombs of Paris, but the pictures of all the bones remind me of the Capuchin Cemetery near the Santa Maria Della Concezione Church in Rome. Same sort of thing with stacks of bones used as decorations of the cellars.
.-= Maria Staal´s last blog ..When You’re a Saint they Write about You =-.
That would be an interesting site indeed. That is one way to decorate a place:-)
I’m glad to hear the catacombs are re-opened. We had a great time exploring them last summer with our friends. However, just a mere days after we passed through they were shut down due to vandalism. Looks like they managed to get whatever destruction happened all sorted out. The catacombs are truly a great sight in Paris! Too bad others don’t seem to think so and continue to steal bones and destroy the place… We were quite shocked to find that 3 skulls were stolen just on the day we were in there: http://dreamalittledream.ca/stealing-skulls-from-the-catacombs-in-paris/
.-= dreamalittledream.ca´s last blog ..The best market in Thailand to get your shopping on =-.
Wow! Our bags were searched on the way out and we wondered who would possibly steal bones. That is shocking that people would steal skulls. We had heard that they were closed due to vandalism but we weren’t sure of the details. I am glad that they are open again too!
The French obviously put some thought into the project – it’s nice to see the brightly lit corridors…..the last catacombs I visited were in Rome and those are much more claustrophobia-inducing – very narrow corridors and not nearly as bright, with much lower ceilings….I think it’s good to visit though, it reminds you that we’re here for such a short time, and who knows where our bones will be hundreds of years from now?
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..The Write Time =-.
The catacombs that you described in Rome are more what I was expecting in Paris. I am going to have to add those to my must see list. I love a good freak out. Good thought too, I want to be cremated that way nobody will have my bones on display:-)
That looks pretty cool! It reminds me of the underground tunnels in Scotland but a lot creepier. It’s hard to imagine how many people are actually in there and unidentified.
Hey Bethany,
It was a little creepy being surrounded by all those bones and skulls! But it was interesting at the same time. Funny how bones and death can be such a tourist attraction!
Not sure how I missed this post before, but wow, this looks like such an interesting experience and I wish I had made it last time I was there…for some reason it just didn’t hold a lot of interest at the time (I was in college, what can I say
But I’m intrigued and have added catacombs as something I’d like to do now, so thanks! 
It took us 3 visits to Paris to finally make it to the Catacombs Shannon. So you are not alone:-)
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